


Blood & Ashes

by euphorbic



Series: Angel of Cities [12]
Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Gratuitous Imagery, M/M, Mild Gore, Non-Linear Narrative, Sociopathic!Shaw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-10 23:21:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/791357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/euphorbic/pseuds/euphorbic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“This world tore you down and then bade we keep you down by keeping your states and militaries dissolved into city-states that could never mount the destruction of your nuclear age. You turned to San Marino and Singapore's examples and built secure foundations, but there are always those among you that will undermine any foundation with your labyrinthine termite kingdoms.”</p><p> <i>In which Sebastian receives some unexpected information.</i></p><p>The aftermath of <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/690605">Alexandria</a>.<br/>See <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/series/36800>">Series Notes</a> for chronological order.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood & Ashes

**Author's Note:**

> I overhauled and added a few hundred plot-heavy words to this piece.

“Don’t be difficult,” Sebastian Shaw says, watching his Power bleed from every pore. “I’m so smitten with you that I put aside my fiancé.”

It takes effort to remember that the Power was once a handsome creature. Alexandria’s world-renown Power is avidly sought by the media and the Alexandrians are understandably proud to call him their own; they've figured out many of his rules, if not his multiplicities of nuance. Unfortunately, his beautifully-clad body now looks bloody and ravaged and his spiritual manifestation is throwing black ashes and blood into physical sight. Sebastian finds it a waste.

“ _I allowed you to know her_ ,” Ronové growls, his voice sounding like gravel grinding through glass. He trembles and ripples run upwards through the blood clinging to the surface of his skin. “ _I never knew her_.”

Sebastian knows what the Power means through the bond he forced. “My relationship predated yours, so you were never in a position to allow or deny between Miss Frost and I. Hell, if anything I would have been happy to see you two get together, but you took too long.

“I sort of suspected, you know,” Shaw grins, “that she was thinking of you when we fucked, but I didn't know until you did that thing with your name. Tell me, what do you call that?”

“ _Confounding_ ,” the Power spits, a spatter of blood sprays from his lips only to fall back on his face. The drops create concentric ripples that spread and die across the contours of his bloody skin.

“When you did that, I suddenly remembered a few times when she said your name. I bet,” Shaw smiled wider, “she didn’t know it would be retroactive. Neat trick. Anyway, I’m not the jealous type. I’m going to miss Emma.”

For all Sebastian Shaw is discordant, his words ring with surprising truth. “ _How could you kill her, if you knew you would miss her?_ ”

Shaw looks at the seething Power and chortles. “You Powers are just like little kids; you don’t seem to get simple concepts by yourselves. I never liked a person in my life as much as I did Emma. Easy on the eyes, smart, obedient, and a force of nature in her own right. But it kind of ends there. You've got almost all that, plus you can blow Alexandria to Kingdom Come.

“All you lacked was the obedience.” Shaw smiles and slaps his Angel’s shoulder with a companionable air that is at odds with the Power's snarling expression. Blood showers everywhere but falls back, it doesn't stay on Shaw. The blood manifesting from the Power’s chaotic spirit can be seen by physical eyes, but it isn't truly physical and as such doesn't remain anywhere but on his person. “Emma gave me the leash, didn't she, Ronové? Sure wish it could have been done differently, but I’m impatient and you have a lot of rules.”

“ _Capricious animal_ ,” the Power accuses, visibly chafing against his Name. The thin layer of blood begins to roil and bubble across his body with agitation. “ _Do you think these rules are mine_?”

Sebastian eyes the blood as it begins to lift in a red mist, hundreds of minuscule beads at a time. His expression doesn't change, remains clearly patronizing. “Are you telling me they aren't? And here I thought you couldn't lie.”

 “ _These rules are of an age before your shell was even the fleeting forward glance of the prophets and familiar spirits left in the dust_.” Blood continues to lift from the Power's clothes and skin, finally beginning to bare his face to view through a growing cloud of red. “ _These rules are as your kind liked in those days! It is not so different from this age nor the prior; complicated laws built on sophistry and bureaucracy that few can penetrate._  

“ _This world tore you down and then bade we keep you down by keeping your states and militaries dissolved into city-states that could never mount the destruction of your nuclear age. You turned to San Marino and Singapore's examples and built secure foundations, but there are always those among you that will undermine any foundation with your labyrinthine termite kingdoms._ ”

“What’s wrong with you?” Shaw snorts, reaching through the suspended arterial beads to draw a fingertip across the Power’s chin. “You were telling me about rules and then you segue into this crazy talk about human nature. Is this how you get when you don’t do that equalizing thing with the city? Perhaps you should; I need you in perfect shape to have the Library rebuilt quickly without resorting to Dr. Xavier’s Temporal Power. Then you’ll need to hone that silver tongue of yours to get started on the transfer of power.”

The Power shocks still; even his snapping black hair halts for a moment. The stillness is eerie, but Sebastian has no sensitivity to such things. When the Power finally moves again, it is to close his red-copper eyes. At once, the bloody mist falls back to his skin where it absorbs, only to sprout anew from his back. The mirror-image geysers of blood unfurl into liquid wings. Shaw watches, unmoved by the proceedings but interested in what he perceives as drama and epic-level histrionics. 

“There are few things I could do,” the Power states, his voice smoothing from the harsh grinding of before as he seems to gather more self-control, “which would be more damaging to Alexandria than attempting Equilibrium in this state. If you want a city left to rule, I need to become less entropic first.” 

Sebastian lifts one hand in a sweeping benevolent gesture, belied by the fact that he is the one making it. “Very well, how do we keep you from falling apart then?”

This time, when Ronové’s lips part, it is to display a smile that not even Sebastian can mistake as benign nor within the parameters of sanity. “My dear Sebastian Shaw, if done before permanent damage is done to my spirit, all you need do is _die_.”


End file.
